On Saturday we had a special time with the teachers and their children planned. The goal was to provide them a restful getaway. Usually when we travel to Kenya, we choose a place that is near to Soweto and the school, or we stay with Samuel directly. This time, we didn’t want to be an imposition, but also recognized that the tradeoff was a little more driving for Samuel. We feel like we found a good balance with our Vrbo we chose. (we scouted some Airbnb’s and Samuel scouted a place for us). With this place, we were able to: 1) Vet a place that we could potentially host teams that we bring in the future, and 2) Host the teachers for a day getaway. And guess what?? We found it! This place in unique, restful, and the owner and caretakers are absolutely wonderful – a big shout out to Nancy (the owner) and Grace and Stanley – the two caretakers here who are a wonderful young couple with two adorable young children. Stanley was a huge help to us the day of the event and even came along with us to church on Sunday. (more about that in my next post)
So back to the day’s happenings: Israel and Tom went with Samuel to the school to hear about and document the well maintenance project progress, while Rebecca stayed at home with Sarayah and Aidan to do the meal preparations for the teachers and children. The well project is going fairly smoothly – although it turns out there is more work than originally expected. This is not totally unexpected, given the age of the well and the limited maintenance required over the years. It will require a new motor and to complete the other half of the pipes. (half of the original metal pipes were switched out to PVC years ago; now the other half need replacing) The nice thing is these pipes should last even longer than the metal ones, and the pump was still in good working order – and the pump would be a much larger cost factor if it had failed.
After surveying the well and Samuel organizing the teachers to meet at the school at 2pm, we ventured to our house. It was quite the sight: getting about 30 people in a mid-sized SUV and a van. People were pack in the back storage area, on laps, and more. But we made it!
Once to the house the teachers and their children arrived to a huge meal Rebecca, Aidan and Sarayah had made. They loved it! We had a great time of fellowship, eating, sharing testimonies, prayers, playing card games, football (soccer), and more. Rebecca and I feel it was a success in the original mission – to provide rest. There was even a time for haircuts! (Aidan gave Earnest and Mamma (sweet elderly kitchen lady from the school) haircuts) And then, much to our surprise, Aidan donated his whole haircutting kit to the school – to use in their new barber/salon training room! We (Rebecca and I) were certainly heartwarmed by this, and this meant so much to Samuel – he bragged on Aidan all night w/a big smile.
Everyone was physically tired by the end of the day, Saturday, but certainly we were emotionally and spiritually filled. So from there that evening we simply wanted to prepare our greetings and testimonies for church the next day. (Samuel invited us to share, each of us, however we felt led – more to come in tomorrow’s update..) And that about wrapped our day…thanks for letting us share!
